Who are Milson prams?

The vintage pram used to push Princess Charlotte was used by the Queen for her own children. The Queen used the pram for Prince Charles' christening in 1948. It has also carried Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, and Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex. The large silver-wheeled pram has been carefully refurbished since then. 

Millson was founded in the early 1900s at 303 Oxford Street, London, and was favoured by the Royal Family and aristocracy. The Millson company resided in Wigmore Lane, London. Eventually, the prestigious company dissolved in the 1960s. Millson prams were stylish, sophisticated and very well made, so no wonder the royal choice.

We spoke to pram restorer, Lincolnshire based Alison Richardson, who told us more about Millson prams: "Millsons were the top manufacturers of the day, very high quality and expensive. The reserve of the wealthy. Most of the Millson prams we worked on were from wealthy titled people." 

Alison and her husband Graham started collecting prams over a decade ago. She added: "It goes without saying that whatever the Royal family had the rest followed suit, as is still the same today." 

Alison shared photos with us of her granddaughter Tamzin at her christening in a Millson Portman pram that she and Graham had restored. The pram previously belonged to Alison's then 400-strong collection.

The pram used by the Duchess of Cambridge is a Millson Cavendish. Alison told us: "They are handmade coach-built prams and there are several models. Not all were huge. The Millson Cavendish twin pram is probably the biggest one. 

"The Millson Victoria is for an older child, more of a cross between a pram and a pushchair. Photos do exist of a young Prince Charles sitting in one." 

Speaking about the mechanism of Millson prams, Alison said: "Millsons had a balancing axle. It could be swung back and forth to change the length of the wheelbase. This made the pram easier to manoeuvre."

 

Millson models still remain highly sought after, and you can expect to pay several hundred pounds for your own second-hand Millson pram. A restored Millson pram could even expect to sell for thousands.